Hydrangea
 

On my walk to the market this morning, I came across this hydrangea bush. I love them and know that the acidity of the soil determines the color. This seemed so strange that all of the blooms were white-ish except for just one!
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That is strange...

My brother lives in a neighbourhood in Vancouver BC that has the most incredible hydrangeas. The colour is determined by more than the acidity of the soil. The acidity or alkalinity can enhance the colour, but the plant itself determines the colour.

In the blocks around his house are dark blue, magenta, pink, pale blue, white, pink (every shade imaginable) dark purple and more. In general the soil in Vancouver is acidic.

The one pink blossom in your photo may be a late bloom that has come after the plant was fertilized.

That one bloom marches to the beat of its own drummer!

The Hydrangea are growing wild this year at our place. No pretty pink ones though. I'd like to know how they do that.

Watson

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ha, the pink one got all the nutrients. they do need something added to the soil for colors.

I have had hydrangeas for years in my yard and some varieties will never change color, no matter what they are fed as they are bred to be white. Just as you might get an albino leaf on a green and white Hosta plant, you'll get one blossom that has color on a "Annabelle" hydrangea. It's an unexpected blessing, like a child with bright red hair.

Beautiful landscaping.

My DM used to have one that had blue and pink at the same time while all her others were blue. I love them so much but they do mot do well here. They do not like our soil and we have water shortages every year and they love a lot of water during our so hot summers.

Very strange, I assume it wanted to stand out.

My bushes range from white to deep raspberry to lime green trimmed in dark pink,I have notice most flowers are fading then you have a late bloomer. I to ,have many colors around my house. When the bush is purchased it is done so by a color that interest me. Then the key is to feed the bush what it needs to stay the true color for which it was purchased. Feeding around the drip line.My cone white has the most unbelievably large flowers.You can Google these plants and see what each needs to bloom there true color.

My grandmother lived in Houston and she had a lot of these in pink. When she got a new roof some nails fell into that flowerbed and she had blue ones mixed in the pink. It is an especially good year for Hydrangeas here. It has been rainy and rain water is their friend!

That blossom must be the 'black sheep' of the bush.

At my house in Maryland I had one that had blue and purple on it. It was given to me by a friend who sent a cutting in a plastic bag through the mail. It came in October so I planted it and put a glass jar over it to protect it through the winter. It was beautiful and I was sorry to leave it when I came to NC.

I'm wondering if they previously treated the soil and there was just a bit left?
Watson, your photo is beautiful!!

i remember when i was just a small child, about 5-6, my grandpa wuld grind up bricks and fabric softener to put under the bushes. the colors were very intense. a great memory, thanks.